Humiliation in the Public Restroom

I know I'm lowering the tone a bit, but it's a story too good not to tell. Tonight we went to the theater to see Wall-E. It was fantastic. It was engrossing, so much so that by the end, I'd consumed way more soda than I had intended to. I was in pain. As soon as the credits began rolling, I eased myself out of the chair and made a rapid escape. I grabbed the first stall I could find in the crowded ladies room. Then I saw the toilet seat. Sitting slightly askew. Anyone could see that to descend upon that throne would send a girl quickly to the floor. And there were no seat covers. There was nothing for it but to squat. (I'm sorry, I know this is in poor taste. Bear with me.) I had no idea that I possessed special powers, but I know now that I do. This was no mere trickle. This was the sound of rushing waters, reverberating off every surface of the now silent room. It kept going and going. People started snickering, then laughing. Yeah, they were all laughing at me and then some lady says "Sheesh!" I'm blushing. I'm dying of embarrassment, but I'm still not done. I'm not kidding, and I'm not exaggerating, either. This really happened an hour ago. So what did I do when the flood had ended? Did I send forth a dove to see if it was safe to emerge? No. I hid my flaming red face in there until I was sure that everyone was gone! Then, as soon as I was safely in the van with my family, I unfolded these events to their view. All of it I could get out anyway, between the gasps and tears of laughter. Truly, this was a memorable family excursion. Note to self: next time, go easy on the soda.

Inspired

My heart's been really full lately, and I've been thinking about God and what I've learned in my life. I've learned that when I reach out, I find Him. I've learned that when I find Him, I become a little more like Him. My sorrows are eased, my capacity for joy increases. I'm more patient, more in love with my husband. I have more compassion for my boys, teaching moments seem to pop up everywhere. Ideas pop into my head about who I can help, and how to help them. In a nutshell, I've learned that the nature of God is love. Isn't it absurd that anyone truly seeking God could argue, hate or even kill over exactly how to follow Him?
What I want to know, is what have you learned in your lives about God, or Universal Truth, or whatever higher power you seek? I believe that truth is truth, no matter where it comes from. Will you share your truths with me? Don't make it a novel, and you don't need to make it sect specific. Just share what you've learned that has lifted you higher. Come on lurkers, you're welcome to comment, I doesn't matter if we've never met.

Anna's Cake- At Long Last!

My favorite part of this trip was chillin' with Anna in her kitchen. I love making real connections with people, and you just can't fake it in the kitchen. You know what I mean? We began the evening with a great dinner Anna had prepared. The guys got to talking and watching sports and Anna and I retreated to the kitchen to make pierogi. (Oh, I totally know how to make those now too.) I took pictures of the process and everything. In order to have room to work in, the dinner dishes needed to be done. (On an interesting side note, they hand wash there. They also have one compact cube of a washer and dryer combined. Neat, huh?) I offered to help with the dishes, but as I was company, she declined. So I sat and we talked as she made the dough. We talked about the differences in our cultures, about the month they spent in Sri Lanka (they've been almost everywhere) and about our presidential election. We talked about our personal philosophies, about what was most important to us. I offered to do the dishes again, and this time she let me. I took that as a pretty big compliment.
The name of this cake translated is Molder cake, or Mulder if you're an X-files fan. Because mold and cake don't go together for me, I've re-christened it "Anna's Cake". I love collecting recipes, so I had to get a photo of her book.
Here's how to make it:

List of Ingredients:
5 cups white flour
3 sticks of butter (not margarine)
6 eggs, separated. You'll use both the yolks and the whites.
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp almond extract
1 tsp sugar
1 1/2 cup jam (she uses a mixture of apple and plum)
1 1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
3 Tbs cocoa powder

Prep work: Grease a 9x13 pan, preheat to 350 degrees.

First, you get a big bowl if you mix by hand, like Anna does, or a mixer bowl if you're a lazy American. Add flour and butter, egg yolks, baking powder, almond extract and 1 tsp of sugar. You put your right hand in, you take your right hand out, you put your right hand in, and you mix it all about.....When it's evenly mixed, you form it into three balls. One ball goes in the freezer, one in the fridge, and one goes back to the mixer. Add the cocoa powder to the ball in the mixer,

reform it into a ball and set it aside. Crumble the ball from the fridge in the pan and press it until it's even. Then you spread the jam on top. Then you crumble the chocolate ball and sprinkle it evenly over the jam. Then you take your favorite kitchen appliance and put it to work beating the egg whites. Marek, Anna's husband was up for the job. Beat the eggs until nice and foamy, adding the 1 1/2 cups sugar and vanilla as you go. When they're spreadable, not hard, spread them over the chocolate on the pan. Then this is the best part: you take the ball out of the freezer and grate it with a cheese grater over the egg whites. Then you pop it in the oven for 40 minutes. Allow it to cool before you serve it.Thank you Anna!
Yum.